ERBIL () - The Kurdistan Region is set to formally mark the full unification of its Peshmerga forces on Monday, in a ceremony presenting the final steps of a years-long effort to place the forces under a single command structure within the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.
The ceremony, to be held at the Kurdistan Region Presidency headquarters in Erbil, will take place under the auspices of Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, Peshmerga Affairs Minister Shorsh Ismail and the commander-in-chief of the Peshmerga forces.
According to the Kurdistan Region Presidency, the event will formally announce the completion of the unification process and present the principal elements of the new military structure.
The ceremony comes less than two weeks after Ismail announced that the integration and reorganization of the Peshmerga had been completed, including the forces previously organized under Units 70 and 80.
"We proudly announce historic news and a major achievement that has long been a dream of our people,"Ismail said on Sept. 10, declaring that the forces had been fully reorganized under the authority of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.
The announcement placed Monday's ceremony at the culmination of a reform process built around unified command and control rather than separate organizational structures.
A New Unified Structure
Under the new arrangement, the Peshmerga forces are organized into Regional Command One and Regional Command Two, with 11 divisions beneath the unified structure.
Each division contains three brigades, while each of the two regional commands also has two infantry brigades.
Ismail said the restructuring places the forces within a single hierarchy extending from brigades to divisions and regional commands, under the direct authority of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.
He also announced that both regional military commands would begin formal operations, describing the change as a step toward what he called a unified and modern army for the Kurdistan Region.
The minister said years of coordination inside the ministry, along with cooperation from the commanders of Units 70 and 80, had been required to overcome earlier obstacles to the process.
He described the final integration as both a military and strategic undertaking, with available ministry resources directed toward completing the reform.
International Support and September Deadline
The unification process has also been linked to cooperation between the Kurdistan Regional Government and its international partners.
Ismail credited the Kurdistan Region president, prime minister and deputy prime minister with providing sustained support for the process. He also highlighted assistance from coalition partners led by the United States under a memorandum of understanding governing Peshmerga reform.
The minister called for that support to continue in a new form now that structural unification has been completed.
September had been set as the final deadline for unification under the memorandum between the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs and the Pentagon, making Monday's ceremony the formal conclusion of a process that had carried both institutional and international significance.
From Battlefield Partner to Unified Force
The Peshmerga are the official military forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government and have played a central role in the Kurdistan Region's security for decades.
They fought alongside US Special Forces during the 2003 Iraq War and later became one of the principal ground partners of the US-led Global Coalition during the campaign against ISIS between 2014 and 2017.
Peshmerga forces suffered nearly 2,000 casualties during the fight against ISIS while helping push the group back from areas across the Kurdistan Region and participating in operations connected to the liberation of Mosul.
Monday's ceremony therefore carries significance beyond an administrative reorganization.
For the Kurdistan Region, it marks the formal transition from historically separate force structures toward a unified military chain of command, with the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs positioned at the center of authority.
After years of negotiations, restructuring and coordination, the focus now moves from completing the unification itself to operating the force under the new command system.
